Where the Angels Dance
by Hero of the Dark
Summary: Happy Birthday, Mom. -CanaCornelia, family-centric.


**Hello, readers! Thank you for clicking on this story! While reading, keep in mind this is my first real attempt at writing angst/tragedy in a while so…yeah. Here it is completely unedited…okay, a little edited. Just a little. Also for those of you who can't remember Cornelia is Cana's mother.**

Underneath the coffee table in a small living room, a five year old girl was curled into a ball, determined not to be seen.

"Cana…" as a pair of shoes appeared in the small girl's line of vision, she sucked in her breathe. The woman, Cornelia, sighed. "Where oh where has my little girl gone? She's nowhere to be found."

Cana let out a nervous breathe. Looks like her mother wouldn't be able to find her after al- suddenly, a pair of arms appeared under the table and snatched the little girl up. She squealed in shock as her mother dragged her out from her hiding place and up into her arms. "Why you naughty little thing, why were you under the table?" The tall, brown-haired woman teased, lightly pinching her daughter on the nose.

" Mamma, you weren't supposed to find me! I was supposed to hide until you forgot about the bath!" The small girl protested. Then she gasped "oops."

Cornelia laughed. "I know you don't like baths, but they keep you clean! You don't want to be dirty, do you?"

"I don't care!"

"Well I do. And the last time you ran out coated in mud none of the other kids would play with you, remember?"

"I don't care about the other kids!" Cana crossed her arms over her chest. "They're stupid and mean!"

"Yes, you're definitely your father's child." Cornelia said with a sigh. "Tell you what. If you take a good bath then we'll go out to dinner and I'll buy you whatever toy you want. How does that sound?"

The little girl's face lit up instantly. "That sounds awesome! I'll take a good bath!" Then she frowned. "Taking a good bath doesn't mean I have to like it, right?"

"No, sweetheart. Now go take a bath, I've got the water all ready for you."

"With bubbles?"

"Of course."

_Mom, you're forty years old today. How about that, huh? I remember on my birthdays you'd always go on about how big I was getting. You'd cry at my party and put out on the candles on my cake before I could blow on them. Every. Stinking. Year._

"Mamma, mamma!" Cana yelled, running through the store. "I picked out my toy!"

The young girl's mother looked up from the lava lamp display as the excited girl ran over to her. She eagerly handed her mother a pack of cards, wrapped in clear plastic. The woman looked them over for a minute. "Tarot cards, huh? You know, some mages use these cards to do magic."

Cana's eyes widened. "Really? Do you think I could use them to do magic?"

"If you want to." Cornelia said. "But you'd have to practice and stick with it."

"I can do it!" Cana said. "So…how do I do it?"

"I'll show you. I used to be interested in Card Magic myself." Cornelia took her daughter by the hand. "First step…I have to buy the cards." And with that, she led her child to the checkout counter.

_Remember when you first tried to teach me how to use that first pack of tarot cards? That was one of the most frustrating days of my life! I thought magic was as easy as making a few hand motions and saying a word or two._

"So, hold it like this?" Cana asked, holding out of the cards.

"Almost." Cornelia gently took her daughter's hand and changed the position of the thumb and forefinger. "This way, it won't fall out of your hand.'

"Why do I have to learn all these finger positions?" Cana complained. "Why can't I do magic already?"

"It takes take, sweetheart." Cornelia replied. "I told you this wouldn't be easy."

"I know, but I wasn't to do magic already!" Cana crossed her arms and pouted. "That way, all the stupid kids will finally know I'm better than them!"

"Now, Cana it's not nice to call people stupid." Cornelia said.

"But they won't let me play baseball with them! They say I'm a girl, and girl's don't play baseball." Cana protested.

Cornelia's lips pressed together in a fine line. "Forget what I just said. They're idiots."

"I know." Cana said with a roll of her eyes. "Now will you show me how to do magic?"

Cornelia smiled slightly. "Show me the third finger position."

as Cornelia's taught her daughter finger positions rang throughout the house until sundown.

_Don't get me wrong, two weeks of finger, hand and wrist positioning were more than worth it. Of course, I was five at the time. So I really didn't care._

"Hey, mamma." A now six year old Cana said as her mother stirred the batter for the cake they were making. "What's that mark on your wrist?"

Cornelia looked up at her daughter an smiled. "That's from you were three years old. You were mad at me so you bit me on the wrist. And it hurt, you little rascal!"

"Well then you shouldn't have made me mad." Cana stuck her tongue out then looked down at the batter. "Mamma, why do all the foods turn into one food when you mix them?"

"It's because once you mix them together, all the foods put aside their differences and become friends." Cornelia replied.

"Mamma that's silly! You're lieing!"

"Am I?" The woman asked, leaving her daughter to stare at the batter and wonder.

_I went out to this new restaurant for lunch today. The waitress was named Cornelia. Beautiful name, huh? But she didn't deserve that name. She called me "that skanky alcoholic." I called her "that annoying bitch." I'm now banned from that restaurant for punching an employee in the stomach and yelling at her to change her name._

"Mamma, those stupid kids called me a violent weirdo!"

"There, there." Cornelia lifted her daughter up into her arms. "Oof, you're heavy!"

"No, I'm not!" Cana pouted. "And don't try to distract me!"

"Well, did you attack them with your magic?"

"...maybe."

"There you have it." Cornelia smiled. "You scared them. Even idiots have feelings, sweetheart.

"Well they act like I don't!"

"And that's what makes them idiots."

"Will you go help me beat them up?"

"No, sweetheart. We'd be run out of town."

"So it's okay for kids to hurt each other, but not adults?"

"That's the gist of it."

"...people are freakin' weird."

Cornelia burst out laughing.

_I never really treasured the time we had together like I should've I thought it would never end. And I'm sure one day you're going to beat my head in for using should've because it's not a word._

"Mamma, mamma!" Cana's delighted voice rang through the house as she raced into the living room, tarot cards in hand. "Mamma, look! I've finally got the hang of that new combo you showed me!"

Cornelia smiled at her daughter. "That's great, sweetheart!" She looked around for a minute before laying her eyes on an empty wooden bowl. She took it off the coffee table and placed it on the floor. "Use it on the bowl so I can see." She sat back down on the couch.

"Okay." Cana's eyebrows narrowed in determination as she looked straight at the bowl. She pulled three cards out of her deck, holding them between two fingers. "Lightning, ReverseTower, Lovers!" She called out, and a magic seal appeared in front of the cards. "Jolt of Fate!" A bolt of lightning erupted from the seal and struck the wooden bowl, burning it black.

Cornelia rose to her feet and clapped eagerly. "Amazing! And you learned that so quickly, too."

Cana beamed, unaware of her mother trying to remember how much that bowl had cost and coming to the startling conclusion of sixty dollars.

_I should've seen it coming. I should've read the signs. Maybe then I could've saved you. I'm sorry, you probably don't want to hear me whining. I'm sorry if some drops of water get on the paper. I'm drinking water, not crying. I'm not- oh, whoops. Spilled some water._

"Heaven...oh nuts! Why can't I grab the right card?" Cana complained to herself, throwing the card on the ground. "Stupid spell. Stupid magic, why does it have to be so hard?" She stomped her foot on the ground twice, but before she could do it a third time a loud sound erupted from the kitchen. "Mamma!" Cana shouted, and ran into the room.

Her mother lay sprawled on the floor, the remains of the glass bowl she'd been using laying in shards around her. Ignoring the sharp stabbing the glass made one her bare feet, Cana ran to her mother's side.

"Mamma!" Cana shook the woman. "Mamma, get up! What happened? What's wrong?" Tears of panic began to form in the corners of her eyes. "Mamma, get up! Why are you on the floor? Mamma!" In desperation, she ran over to the communication lacrima on the table and screamed at it. "Help me! My mother's not moving!"

The lacrima glowed yellow as another voice echoed from it. "Cana, is that you? What's wrong?"

"I already told you, Mamma's not moving!" Cana said, hot liquid now flowing freely down her cheeks. "Mrs. Smith, help! Come make Mamma get up!"

"I'm on my way." The light in the lacrima crystal faded away.

_I told you, I'm drinking water! I'm not crying! You know, I can't help but wonder if you'd like more than a letter for your birthday. But I guess, at least for now, these silly letters will have to do._

"A heart attack." The doctor said, shaking her head sadly. "I'm sorry."

"So does that mean she won't be able to come home for a while?"

"No, Cana. She's gone to a special place far away from here. She isn't coming back."

The little girl's eyes filled with tears. "Does that mean I'll never see her again?"

"Of course not. You'll see her again, one day. At the ends of the sky, where rainbows glitter in the sunlight and the angels dance."

"Where the angels dance..." Cana said quietly. "I'll see Mamma there, one day."

_Happy birthday, Mom._

_Love,_

_Cana._

**Well? What did you think? Please tell me, I'd love to know! And also, I hate to annoy you with advertisement here but I made a Fairy Tail RP Forum a few days ago called Original Guilds RP and the member count is currently a big, fat zero. So if you're into role playing, I'd love if you'd check it out! **

**-Hero of the Dark**


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